EVENTS SUMMARY Season 17 Episode 02 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, “Criminal Pathology,” follows the members of New York City’s Special Victims Unit as they work on a case involving the murder of Susie Frain by prime suspect Dr. Carl Rudnick. The episode begins with members of the SVU team reporting to a crime scene where a dismembered body is found in the water off of a beach. This body is identified as that of Susie Frain, romantic partner of Dr. Greg Yates, who is already in jail after being charged with various murders the SVU team believes medical examiner Dr. Carl Rudnick is also associated with. Susie was the prime prosecution witness for the crimes tied to Dr. Rudnick, who is now missing after posting bond, leading the team to …show more content…
The relationship between Detective Rollins and the imprisoned Dr. Yates is also entertaining, but the professionalism is highly skeptical. Detective Rollins is effective in getting inside Dr. Yates’ head to understand his next moves and approach him with questions in a way that encourages him to trust her and share important information. However, this relationship lacks boundaries, exemplified when Dr. Yates gives input on the detective’s pregnancy. Detective Rollins' professionalism is even brought up in court when Rita cross-examines her, pointing out the number of visits she made to Dr. Yates, often alone, and how Dr. Yates confided in her the most. Dr. Yates himself is an entertaining character, as his personality is unsettling yet captivating. He reveals an abundance of information about his schemes while seemingly saying nothing at all, and his body language appears innocent, yet there is always a maniacal look in his eye. Despite the use of these often unrealistic entertainment components, this episode does a fair job of presenting the intricacy and value of forensic science and science in
In Walt Harrington’s True Detective, the article centers on the character Victor Smith, better known as V.I., who is a detective who investigates cases of homicide. This article was effective in allowing the readers to understand the perspective of a homicide detective and the many cases they undergo. However, it was difficult to find a connection with this article, because I have no experience with homicide or murder cases apart from what I have seen from the media and TV shows. I was still able to enjoy True Detective, as it described the daily lives of the detectives from Homicide North.
In Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member, Kody Scott tells the story of the struggle between two significantly large gangs. At the age of eleven he was initiated into the Crips, and committed his first murder. It was this day that began what would become a career for Kody: banging (Scott, 1993).
The United States has one of the oldest and most valuable criminal justice system in the world today. The first known example of the punishments was in the sixteenth century. The criminal justice system of America has a such an astonishing history, that system around the world admired our punishments system and reformation system.
When New York City had a new leftist mayor, many foreshadowed there would be a significant rise in crime spanning over a few years. The new mayor, Bill de Blasio, was to blame. De Blasio wanted to reform city measure, but he went about it in a different way. De Blasio talked and listen more to ex-cons on this matter, putting their options and advice to the forefront of his mind. Many of them rallied for reducing police stratagems to reduce New York City’s crime rates. It was believed that de Blasio agreed with this idea because of his thoughts on some of the tactics New York City’s police officers used. De Blasio fought against “Stop and Frisk”, because of how they unjustly discriminated against young, African American males and put their safety at risk.
Film has evolved into one of the most popular forms of entertainment mediums in America today. Beginning from a “moving picture” that lasted no more than a few seconds, the industry has sprouted into a goldmine of technologically advanced major motion pictures. While Hollywood was still in an adolescent stage, a certain genre caught the eye of a United States eager for trendy entertainment: the “gangster” film. No film better defined the genre than Mervyn LeRoy’s Little Caesar. The movie was released in 1930 and largely due to the industries technological advancements the silent film had started a slide down the slippery slope to extinction as “talkies” were becoming all the rage. Although gangster films existed previous to the talkie era, there was something about the audible rat-tat-tat of machine guns and the stylized argot of tough guy talk that made an electrifying concoction. In addition, the gangster’s disregard for established society seemed fitting for a population who was beginning to lose its trust in institutions such as banks after being severely shaken by the depression (Giannetti 143). The circumstances were ideal for the rise of the gangster film.
The criminal justice system has been evolving since the first colonists came to America. At first, the colonists used a criminal justice system that mirrored those in England, France, and Holland. Slowly the French and Dutch influences faded away leaving what was considered the English common law system. The common law system was nothing more than a set of rules used to solve problems within the communities. This system was not based on laws or codes, but simply that of previous decisions handed down by judges. Although rudimentary, this common law system did make the distinction between misdemeanors and the more serious crimes known as felonies.
There are many different theories that have developed to explain the steep decline in crime that began in the 1990’s following decades of the highest crime rates in history. There have been numerous studies and forums to gather, discuss, and interpret data. The one consensus among them all is that there is no easy answer to the question- why has the crime rate dropped? Some of the many factors that have been considered as possible contributors to the decline include- demographics, the drug market, the economy, increased policing efforts, incarcerations, handguns, lead paint and legalized abortion. One common point that most researchers, law enforcement experts and
The TV show, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, often addresses criminal deviance such as rape and murder. In the episode, “Scorched Earth,” an African immigrant maid becomes a rape victim of a rich, Italian prime minister named Distascio (Wolf). This episode highlights how status can affect perception of certain deviant behaviors. Additionally, it addresses contemporary America’s values toward types of deviant acts, and sanctions that go along with them.
In chapter 5 of Images of color, images of crime author Peggy McIntosh refers to White privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that can count on cashing in each day, but about which 'meant' to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks. It is apparent that white people receive unearned advantages and benefits that are not accessible to people of color. In fact, how can someone even question that the fact that people of color are treated differently than Whites, when African Americans constitute a significant portion of individuals who are incarcerated today. Here is an example of an experience that I had a few years ago that made me realize that I was treated differently because I was not white. I worked at the Ymca for about three years at a summer camp, which was predominantly white. I loved working there, but I kept to myself because I was treated differently from my co-workers. In fact, the white individuals that I worked with would constantly ma...
The most vivid example of the biological determinism is the theory of Cesare Lombroso. Lombroso based his theory on the assumption that criminals have certain physiognomic features or abnormalities. Lombroso wanted to be able to detect future criminals in order to isolate them from the society. This gave criminology a strong push to create new methods of dealing with criminals and prevent crimes. Lombroso implied that prisoners had common facial characteristics. If to exaggerate criminals in Lombroso’s theory can be identified through the shape of their skulls, asymmetry of the face and head, large cheekbones, ears and lips, long arms and a twisted nose. Lombroso’s theory is the oldest one and it can without a doubt be called the main background data for the whole process of the development of criminology. Lombroso stated that men are more inclined to commit crimes due to the conservatism and the narrow-mindedness of their interests. According to Lombroso women have less social contacts and this is what predetermines their conservatism. Thi...
Crime and Punishment and Notes from the Underground Fyodor Dostoyevsky's stories are stories of a sort of rebirth. He weaves a tale of severe human suffering and how each character attempts to escape from this misery. In the novel Crime and Punishment, he tells the story of Raskolnikov, a former student who murders an old pawnbroker as an attempt to prove a theory. In Notes from the Underground, we are given a chance to explore Dostoyevsky's opinion of human beings.
Throughout the 19th century, the criminal justice system in America and beyond began to evolve into a structure that more closely resembles the institution today. Prior to this period the criminal justice system was composed of laws based on moral commandments, social precedents and arbitrary punishments. The reform movement of the 1800s brought new outlooks on criminal acts and launched new methods of punishment that humanized and rationalized the criminal justice system.
The definition of justice and the means by which it must be distributed differ depending on an individual’s background, culture, and own personal morals. As a country of many individualistic citizens, the United States has always tried its best to protect, but not coddle, its people in this area. Therefore, the criminal justice history of the United States is quite extensive and diverse; with each introduction of a new era, more modern technologies and ideals are incorporated into government, all with American citizens’ best interests in mind.
Criminology has evolved over history into becoming a discipline all its own, along the way it grew and developed from a multiple sources of disciplines to become an integration of various theories. Reasons that seek to explain crime and deviant behaviors has mirrored the time in which research was being conducted and as time continues to change it is to be expected more theories will arise to incorporate past theories to become ever more inclusive. It is important to understand this development from the formulation of theories, the evolution of, the determining factors in testing, particular process such as social learning that are upheld as strong empirically sound theories in order for scholars to continue to advance further studies. But it is unlikely crime will ever be solved completely, for in some instances it is a necessary evil, yet it can be hoped that with the knowledge obtained thus far and that to be discovered crime and deviance might be reduced, prevented and controlled in the future to come.
In The History of The Franks and The Lais, both Gregory and Marie de France focus a lot on the stories that are related to women. Also, according to them women’s status in the 12th centuries seems to elevate compared with the previous centuries. On one hand, women tend to have power, either regarding to economic or family, in their hands. Women in The History of The Franks own their own control over economic power in the family, and they can even become an inheritor or a superviosr on the behalves of their husbands. In Le Fresne, the rich men’s wife decideds everyting by herself without even telling her husband-- to abandon one of her twin daughters and to arrange her daughter’s marriage. On the other hand, they are free to love, which means